The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-01-22
NOAH AND THE ARK.
Or. CURTiSS' NOTES ON THE SUN
DAY SCHOOL LESSON.


Traditions Of the Flood Almost every
people, except the black races, are said TO
hav tradition of the food. This is the case
even among the inhabitants Of tho South
Sea islands and the American Indians. This
tradition was undoubtedly handed down
from the original ancestral seat OF the human
race in tho valley of the Euphrates. The
account which bears the closest resemblance
to that in the Bible is found In the Chaldean
Genesis rs transmitted on the tablets Of the
cuneiform Inscriptions There is this strik-
ing difference however, that, while tho
Scriptures clearly represent that the deluge
was sent in punishment Of sin, the Chaldean
Genesis indicates this fact only obsclTely.
THE LESSON.
Noah's Character and Descendants Tvs
9,10. These are the generations OF Noah. "
The expression generations" as used here
and in some other passages is equivalent
to history We may regard this clause,
therefore, as equivalent to This is the
history OF Noah" Noah was just RE
vised Versiom, righteous man." This does
not indicate that he was sinless, but rather
that he was man of rectitude or rightness
of character. "And perfect in his genera
tons" The word "blameless," Of the Re-
viscd Version, instead of perfect, conveys
a clearer idea of what he was. As Of
Enoch, it is said of him that he walked
with Cod" thus indicating the harmony of
his lie with the divine plan.
The descendants Of three sons Of Noah are
found in the tenth chapter Of Genesis. Tc
name some representative peoples under
each, we find among the sons Of Shcm tho
Assyrians, the Arampaus and the Hebrews;
among those of Ham, the Egyptians and
Canaanitcs; and among those of Japhcth,
the Ionans, the Colts, etc.
Welcomes OF the World Tvs II, icy
These verses teach three thinSS-Qj that
the earth was corrupt; C2l that it was filed
with violence; (3l that all flesh had cor
ruptcd its way, and hence was responsible
for this result.
How, then, had this state Of things come
about According to an Interpretation that
is as probable as any, from the marriage OF
the Church and the world. There were two
main lncS-the Caiutes, distinguished for
the arts Of civilization; the Sethites for
their picty The SethiteS, or "the sons of
God" united with the Canites, or ''the
DAUGHTERS of men, The sons who sprang
from this union were men Of renown, but
the wickcdness of man was very great.
Only one man was left Of whom it could be
said that he walked with God
Universally Of the Flood ". 13)--"The end
Of all flesh il come bclore me- seems to re-
fer not only TO the destruction of man, as
determined BIZ God, but also to that of the
animals who suffer on account Of sin. The
question may be raised here as to the uniyer
salty of tho food. This l:lust b. determined
by two considerations-(D its intent; CO. tho
testimony of Scriptures. The object Of the
food was to sweep man from the earth on
account OF Lis wickedness. 1t was not nee
essary, therefore, that it should be OF
greater extent than the population Of the
earth. whjcl. probably then occupied com
parativcly small portion of the surface Of
the globe. So far as the expression AL
the high mountains that were under the
whole heaven were covered" (tovised Yer
SION, we are TO understand this as referring
to the inhabited earth as known to the sa-
cred writers, in the sense OF other passages
of Scripture, which are not less absolute,
but which certainly do not Indicate the
whole world (Deut. ii, %; Acts go.
The Ark Tvs 1910 We do not know
what kind of wood was used In the con-
struction Of the ark. The dimensions of the
ark, reckoning twenty-one inches to tho
cubit were 525 feet in length, 81 feet u
inches in breadth and SO feet 6 inches in
height 1t was consequently considerably
smaller than the Great Eastern tSmith's
Unabridged Bible Dictionary. 1t was ar
RANGED in three stories, which were divided
up into coils for the animals The ark was
furnished with a Eight" according to the
Revised Version; in the Old Version called
window The word opening is considered
in Hebrew collective, and hence the refer
ence is not to one small window. How the
LIGHTING, which very likely included vcnitiia-
ton. was accomplished we do not know.
Gods Threat and Covenant " 1O.-God
il spoken of here us the author of the flood,
but it is not determined whether he wrought
q special miracle, or whether no made use
of natural causes in bringing it about. 1t
would seem as though no action Of tho or
binary laws of nature would be sufficient to
account for such phenomenon, although,
according to Lyell, ain June, 1919, the
sea flowed in by the eastern mouth OF the
Indus, and in a fow hours converted tract
of land =, OC0 square nils in area into az in
land sea or lagoon"
". ~ Gods covenant, which he prom
ises to establish with Noah, is described later
(Gen. tx, 0-l0, and was made with him
after the flood; but he and his family were
to reap the benefits Of it at once. With re-
gard to Noah and his family, it gave them
the assurances that they should be pre-
served; and with reference to his posterity
God promised that there should never be Il
food to destroy the earth again.
Animals Kept Alive Tvs. lo-2N The
animals that are 10 b. kept alive are gath
cred to Noah in the ark. How they came
we DO not know We can only suppose
that it was through a direct miracle that
those which were to be preserved III that
part of the earth where the deluse was to
take place presented Themselves under divine
direction to Noah.
Significance of the Flood. What, we may
ask, is the significance Of the flood' 1t shows
the abominable nature Of sin in God S
sight. 1t is the forerunner Of all, those judS-
ments which God visits on sin, as recorded
in tho Old Testament in the destruction OF
Sodom and Gomorrah, in the command for
the extinction of the Canaanitss, and in his
dealings with his covenant people. II is
type of the judgments which are indicated
In the New Testament, which he will visit
on the finally impenitent. 1t shows that
God will have his people separate from the
world, and that In an Old Testament his
tory Gods chosen people were in danger OF